Gene Wolfe - The Wizard

A shadow, it seemed, flitted from one of the hulking houses to another. He blinked, and it was gone; yet he felt sure he had seen it. Less boldly, he moved to the next house and the next, then paused, pulling up the hood of his cloak.

The shadow moved again, a shadow much smaller than a giant—indeed, smaller than he. He flattened himself against a wall, grateful for the pegs that poked his back but broke up his silhouette. The shadow did not wholly vanish: he could see it, darker black, in the shadow of a house.

It moved, and something moved with it, something much larger, something even less distinct. An arm, a huge and twisted hand—

“No!” Toug shouted. “No, Org! Don’t!”

The small shadow froze and he sprinted toward it. He glimpsed frightened eyes in a pale face and picked the owner of that face up without breaking stride. At a noise from the house he passed he dodged down a new street, one so narrow it seemed impossible for Angrborn to walk it, then chose a new street at random and stopped to set his burden down.

“What was that?” The voice was a girl’s.

“Org.” Toug gulped freezing air. “He’s a... I don’t know. A kind of animal, I guess. He’s sort of a pet of Sir Svon’s. I—we... Who are you?”

“Well, I’m me. Etela.” (Her head came nearly to his chin.) “You got eyes.”

“I’ll take you home. You’d better get inside before you meet Org again—he might not remember.”

“Are you from the castle?”

Toug nodded.

“’Cause you’ve got eyes ‘n our men don’t, ‘less they’re new. Not even then, mostly.” Etela paused. “If you’re one of the ones that have the king, I can tell you.”

“Tell me what?”

“Well, ‘bout the shovels ‘n picks they’re making. They done lots, ‘n going to be hundreds ‘n thousands.”

“Is that what you came out at night for?”

“Uh-huh. Mama said tell you. Are you a knight?”

“No, but my master is. Where do you live, Etela?”

“Master’s house. I’ll show you.” She set off. “I’m not ‘fraid now ’cause you’re with me. See how brave I am?”

“You wanted to tell us about the shovels.”

“Uh-huh. Mama says they’re going to dig ‘n pile up dirt on the castle ‘til they bury it.”

“Nobody could do that,” Toug objected.

“Well, it’s what she says. Only nobody’s s’posed to know. I’m scared of ’em, but I’m scared worse of that Org what tried to g-g-grab me.”

Her teeth were chattering. Toug picked her up again and wrapped his cloak about her. “I’ll carry you awhile, and we’ll both stay warmer. What’s your master’s name?”

“Logi. Aren’t I heavy?”

“You don’t hardly weigh anything. How old are you?”

“‘Most old enough to get married.”

Toug laughed softly.

“That’s what Mama says. Because of the hair ‘n getting big up here. It’s a real long way to where I live. Are you going to carry me the whole way?”

“Maybe. Did you come this far tonight?”

Etela nodded. He felt the motion of her head.

“Then I think I can carry you back. We’ll see. Maybe Org could carry us both. Be faster.” She trembled, and he said, “I was just teasing, and I don’t think Org would do it anyhow. Maybe for Sir Able or Sir Svon, but not for me.”

“Was he going to kill me?”

“Sure. Eat you, too. Me and Sir Svon are supposed to feed him, but we haven’t been doing it lately. There isn’t much, and we’ve been busy. Sir Svon told him not to eat the slaves, but he’s got to eat something, I guess. So that’s something else to worry about. Getting lots of food quick. I don’t know how we’re going to do it.”

“You don’t eat people?”

Toug grinned. “Not unless they’re cleaner than you.”

“You shouldn’t try to fool me. It’s mean.”

“All right.”

“You got to turn up here at the corner.”

“Which way?”

“Well, there isn’t but one. What’s your name?”

“Toug. Squire Toug, if you want to be formal, but you don’t have to be formal with me.”

The crooked, rutted street he had been following ended, and he turned left. “Only you’ve got to be formal when you talk to Sir Svon or Sir Garvaon. Or Lord Beel. I mean, if you ever get into the castle you’ll have to.”

“Are you going to marry me?”

Toug halted in midstride. “I don’t think so.”

“Well, I do. When I’m bigger.”

“It’s not very likely, Etela.” He began to walk again. “I’m not sure I’ll ever get married.”

“It is too, ’cause when Mama said I thought who’ll it be ‘n there wasn’t nobody. But here you are, only you got to court me. Sing under my window, Mama says.”

He smiled. “When you’re older.”

“Uh-huh, ’cause I haven’t got windows at home.” Pushing a painfully thin arm through the parting of his cloak, Etela pointed. “See that? That’s the last house. Right up there. Go over the little hill, then it’s where we live.”

“Is that where the tools are? The picks and shovels?”

“I’ll show you. Our forge’s right on the house, like, ‘n that’s good ’cause it’s so hot, so it’s a good place only there’s not much to eat. Are you hungry?”

Toug shook his head.

“Well, I am. I’m real hungry. I thought maybe you thought Mama could give you something. Only Mama won’t talk to you, most like, ‘n couldn’t give you a thing anyhow.”

Feeling her shiver, Toug said, “You’re cold.”

“Well, it’s always cold outside.”

Toug had come to his decision, and he announced it. “After you show me the tools I’m going to take you to the castle. We haven’t got a lot of food, but I can give you mine in the morning and find you better clothes.”

“Well, I was hoping to get in.” Etela sounded wistful.

“Sure. Pouk can find you clothes. Pouk’s my brother-in-law, and he got me these boots. If Queen Idnn were here, she might—who’s that?”

“Well, that’s Vil,” Etela whispered. “I guess he heard us.”

“I feel the call of Skai every time we do this,” I muttered. “What about you, Gylf? Don’t you feel it?”

Gylf glanced up. “Yep.”

“You’ve never been there. Not since you were small.”

He did not speak.

“You could’ve come after me. But I suppose you didn’t know where I’d gone. You thought I was dead.”

“Yep.”

“Now I’m back, no nearer Disiri, but nearer Skai than I ever was when I was with her. I just want to keep riding up and up too, closer and closer ‘til I see the castle. I want to unsaddle Cloud there, and fill her manger until the corn runs over. Then I want to go into the hall and show you off, have a drink, and tell good lies about all we did down here.”

“Are we?”

“No. But you’d like Skai. Love it, in fact. It’s all plains and wild hills, and always changing. Look.” Fusing in my saddle, I pointed. “There’s Utgard, black against the stars. See it?”

“Bad.”

“I’m sure. But oh Thyr and Tyr, just look at the size of it! If ever I’ve doubted that our Angrborn are true sons of Bergelmir, I’d believe it now.”

Prompted by my thoughts, Cloud began her descent.

“I swore I wouldn’t use the power I was given there when I came back, but—”

“No?”

“You think I’m using it, don’t you? Whenever we travel like this.”

“Yep.”

“I’m not. This is Cloud’s talent, one of them. If I were to dismount, I’d fall.”

“I don’t,” Gylf panted.

“No, but you can’t ride.” I reined up. “Look over there, the red light. That’s a forge, I’ll be bound, and they’re still working. Why don’t we hear the hammers?”